Development of The Youth
by Miyuki Chiyo
Summary: "In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take." Editing in process. R&R.


**A try at another type of writing style. I'm an amateur, so I'm playing around with different styles. A bow to the amazing CarrieDreamer!**

 **I'm reediting all my stories currently, so I hope one-shots will satisfy you guys.**

* * *

 **Important, READ THESE BEFORE YOU READ (or else you'll be extremely confused):**

 **-Anyways, the identity of _she_ is your choice whether which twin it is. Can be read as both twins.**

 **-For plot and preventing loop holes in development, Tio and Auler are the same age and are the older brothers, whereas Lione and Sophie are the younger siblings.**

 **-Fango is also the same age of Tio and Auler.**

 **-Date at the fair has been removed because it was too cliche and cringy. Replaced with heartbreak.**

 **-Anorexia is the lack of eating or losing your appetite.**

 **-Again, not for the faint hearted.**

 **-Character deaths. Minors, but one major.**

 **-Sexual assault is briefly mentioned, and depression is also briefly mentioned.**

 **-Cheshire is the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. You may remember it by its infamous line, "If you don't know where you're going, any road can take you there", or by its eerie smile.**

* * *

 **Status: Unedited, constructive criticism would be nice.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigiboshi no Futagohime.**

* * *

 _"In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take."_

* * *

 **Act I, "She"**

She was nobody, really.

Another soul, another faceless blur in the school. She probably even goes to your school.

She sits in the library during lunch. She sits in the back, near the window, of her class. Her teacher probably forgot about her after she walked in. He did have over a hundred students to keep records on, grade tests, and just to simply take care of.

Delinquents, teacher's pets, jocks, bullies, you name it, there's someone who possesses that title.

Wallflower was a fitting title, except she wasn't a nerd or stuck on the sidelines for some reason. She just simply stood quiet during school hours like a silent ghost, and like a ghost she was treated as. Forgotten so easily, like a corpse to a distant relative.

Loner was too cold for her, for she did interact with a few students, although it was more of breezing in that silent still manner of hers, rather than interacting.

 _"You need this?"_

Soft inaudible words as she handed him a book.

 _"Yeah, thanks a lot."_

Facial responses, a noticeable flinch to a keen eye.

 _"Hey, I haven't seen you around. What's your name?"_

Shocked expression, open mouth, no words escaping.

 _"Well, okay. See you around."_

He'll probably forget her by the end of the day.

* * *

 **Act II, "Mirlo"**

 _"Hey, wanna work on that presentation together?"_

 _She was brilliantly shining, completely surrounded by an aura, the girl never felt before._

 _She made her feel accepted, wanted. So the girl was compelled to accept the glittering girl before her._

 _"Okay."_

For weeks, she poured her heart into the power-point she thought of. Mirlo occasionally visited her to check on her progress, and slowly those visits grew shorter and rarer.

But the girl was so happy to finally have a friend, the thought blinded her.

 _"Wow, you're really good at this."_

She wasn't used to being complimented, but Mirlo made her feel something she never felt. That she 'fit' in.

 _"How about you do this page as well?"_

She already did the rest, so one more page won't hurt, right? She was now addicted to the idea, the thought of being accepted against all the odds she previously thought was impossible to face.

Mirlo was popular. She wasn't. They were like complete opposites, yet they were 'friends'.

* * *

 **Act II, "Mirlo", Part 2**

"Mirlo!"

She cried out at the girl on the stage. She wasn't notified that their presentation had amazed the principal.

She recieved an annoyed look from her 'friend'.

"What now?"

A harsh tone the girl had never heard before. Maybe Mirlo woke up on the wrong side of her bed. That must be why she was a bit snarky today.

"Weren't we working together on the project?"

Fingers playing with each other, judging her every move, as she admired the floor for a while.

"There was a 'we'? Oh, sorry you haven't gotten the update, but you've been replaced."

She was shattered into a billion pieces.

 _This isn't right. Friends aren't suppose to replace each other._

It echoed in her mind as she tried her best to collect all the broken pieces together, with some scotch tape.

"That isn't right!"

The words that were coming out of her mouth greatly differed from the ones in her raging mind.

"That isn't right?" The elder girl imitated her in a high squeaky voice before returning to her harsh tone. "Life's not fair, dear."

The tape was coming undone much faster than she thought.

"But...But.."

The comebacks in her mind vanished and she desperately searched for one.

"But what?"

She thought of one.

"But we're friends!"

When it came out, it sounded less convincing than when it rang in her head. The piercing glare she received shook her as the final word was placed.

"When was I ever a friend with a loser like you?"

The tape has come undone.

* * *

 **Act II, "Mirlo", Part 3**

It was success. The presentation, Mirlo, everyone was pleased, even the mayor.

Funny how karma doesn't work sometimes.

They cheered her on as she showed off 'her' presentation on that blubby float with the bright plump cheeky mayor.

Mirlo became an instant role model to the school, and her status was blasted to equivalent those of the rich, beautiful, sons and daughters of the famous in the school.

While Mirlo shook hands with everyone, laughing and talking with her new friends, she sat at the window, staring at a mother robin who recently built a nest on the grand oak tree, feeding her chicks.

Never had she felt this alone, this out of place.

* * *

 **Act III, "Altezza"**

She grew less and less noticeable, being marked absent for quite some time due to her quietness.

She fell asleep in her classes, and ate less and less. Sometimes, she would just skip lunch to read in the library.

That was how this, quite impressive, encounter happened.

She was walking like her usual self to the library, deciding to skip lunch that day.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

She fell to the ground, due to collusion with the blonde in front of her.

She had been bumped into quite often, but they never noticed her on the floor to even offer a hand. They just walked off, tending to their everyday business.

But this girl was different. She scold her head off, but offered her a hand.

She stared at the hand like it was a foreign antique, stunned as the feeling of being noticed ran over her.

The blonde was suddenly aware of her hand sticking out, and was about to pull back to cover up some embarrassment.

"Come on, if you aren't going to ta-"

She grabbed her hand to pull herself up.

"Tha-naks. I mean, thanks!" She stuttered a bit before deciding to have her voice heard.

The blonde looked at her strangely. As a strange growling sound was emitted from her, a rush of blood heated the blonde's cheeks.

The blonde quickly interjected, "That wasn't me! It must have been you! Anyways, since you're hungry, let's go eat lunch."

She smiled softly at the blonde's strange ramble.

* * *

 **Act III, "Altezza", Part 2**

She learned that her name was Altezza, her parents were divorced, and she lived with her mom, Camelia.

Although Altezza's mom didn't welcome her at first, she dealt with it anyways.

Soon, her coming over was so common, she even had her own room there.

So it was winter when they were all bundled up in their jackets and sweaters, playing in the snow, later coming into the house to warm their toes by the fireplace, and playing in the snow some more.

She sipped some more of her hot chocolate, as she sinfully enjoyed the warmth of the blazing fire. Altezza was next to her, wearing the same identical milk mustache she had.

Altezza caught the girl staring at her, and blushed furiously as she wiped the mustache off.

"Hey, it isn't funny!"

The girl looked at her innocently before cracking into small giggle.

"Okay, Altezza-san."

"Stop laughing! Oh my god, I swear it isn't funny!"

She giggled some more at her friend's antics.

"I can see you laughing!"

Altezza's blush dimmed for a while.

"You should really have some more confidence in yourself."

She took it as a joke and giggled a bit before realizing the seriousness on her friend's face.

"Really?"

She asked to make sure.

Serious Altezza was gone, and the blush was back.

"I mean it, and don't make me repeat it! It's embarrassing!"

She felt her cheeks being painted light rosy pink by her friend's kindness. She burrowed herself into the helm of her jacket, and smiled.

She felt something shoved in her hands. A violet scarf, or a somewhat scarf thanks to the creator's poor knitting skills.

"Don't judge it!" Altezza gasped even louder when she caught the smile on her face. "I swear if you're just going to laugh at it, don't even bother, just throw it out!"

She wrapped the scarf around her neck, engulfing herself in its scent.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, idiot."

* * *

 **Act III, "Altezza", Part 3**

 _Exit 4 has been blocked by a car accident. I repeat, Exit 4 has been blocked by a car accident. The crash involved two cars, one black SUV, the other a gray Jeep._

Altezza's mom drove a gray Jeep, they were planning on going to Orlando, this year, for Altezza's birthday. Altezza had ran on and on about how excited she was to go to Disneyland. She was going to go with them too.

 _The accident resulted in one death of a girl, roughly seventeen years old. It appears the mom was driving the girl to school this morning, only to hit a drunk driver._

She snuggled lovingly into the violent scarf as she thought of what to give Altezza.

"Mom, what should I get Altezza?"

She thought out loud, thinking all of the things her friend liked. She didn't expect an answer from the empty front passenger seat.

 _"My mom's dead, Altezza. So is my dad."_

 _"I'm sorry, I'm sure they were great parents to have a kid like you."_

 _"Thanks."_

"Miss, Exit 4 to your school is blocked, would you like to take local?" The taxi driver asked her.

"Okay, Melon." She replied. She couldn't wait to see Altezza.

Melon reserved himself as her taxi driver to school, being the apprentice of her late scientist of a father. She told him so many stories of Altezza, her first real friend.

 _The mother is currently in coma, and is sent to the ambulance. The drunk driver is a man in his forties, and has been tested with results that he has consumed alcohol within the last thirty minutes._

"Melon, can we drop by the department store? I want to get something for Altezza."

She was thinking of a gold charm bracelet with gem charms. Green emerald ones to highlight her friend's eyes. Like sunlight that lighted up a forest.

"Sure, miss."

The radio rambled on and on about the drunk driver.

Melon pulled the car to the sidewalk of Walmart. There wasn't much shoppers this early in the morning, so the parking lots were quite bare.

"I'll be back in five minutes."

She ran into the store, and headed to the jewelry section.

Upon catching sight of what she wanted, she searched the jewelry department for worker.

"Miss! Miss! Miss!" Finally she, with her small stature, caught the attention of one.

"I would like this one."

She pointed at a gold chain, with gems hanging from the bracelet.

"Thank you for your purchase, miss."

She was handed a bag containing the bracelet decoratively placed into a velvet scarlet box.

Running out the doors to make sure she wasn't late, or Altezza would scold her, she was greeted by a pained look on Melon's face, and the radio switched from the traffic updates Melon always had on to a boring classical music for some oldies.

She didn't notice this vague change, her senses dimmed with her glee of seeing her friend.

Altezza, who was never absent and proud of it, didn't come that day.

* * *

 **Act IV, "Lione"**

She wore the purple scarf everyday from that day.

She never touched the gift again.

She stopped coming over to the lonely, empty house.

Today, there was a transfer student.

She said her name was Lione.

Lione had orange hair, not blonde.

Lione had orange eyes, not green.

She looked back at the mother bird on the tree.

* * *

 **Act IV, "Lione", Part 2**

"Hey,"

She was greeted by the new girl. Not blonde, not green eyes girl.

"Can we be friends?"

She looked at her blankly. The new girl still didn't have blonde hair.

"Can we be friends?"

The new girl bugged her some more. Her orange, not green, eyes pleaded her.

The new girl wasn't forward and didn't scold her already for being so silent, something she took as a lack of confidence.

The new girl wasn't bold.

"Can we be friends?"

But the new girl was persistent, she found out.

She never felt this exposed. Every crank and nook she turned, she would be greeted with the same question, 'can we be friends?'

She looked away from the girl, finding her lack of green eyes and blonde hair disturbing.

"Can we be friends?"

She absently sent a look at another group of chattering preppy girls that seemed like the new girl's supposed type of friends.

"Can we be friends?"

The new girl, she refused to say her real name, was the current inhabitant of the desk. Did the class forget about her that easily?

Upon the moment the new girl placed her bag on the desk, was when she decided that very moment she would hate this new girl.

"Do you hate me?"

Yes.

"Can you talk?"

Yes.

"Can we be friends?"

No.

The cycle looped around and around, before she found herself actually responding with her hoarse voice, tired from the endless sleepless nights of crying.

"Do you like seafood?"

"No opinion."

"Do you hate school?"

"No opinion."

"Do you mind being lab partners with me?"

"No op-wait! I didn't mean that!"

"Sorry, it's a done deal. And you said more than two words!"

She clasped her hand over her mouth in shock what she done. She agreed to be partners with the new girl, Lione.

* * *

 **Act IV, "Lione", Part 3**

Pump.

Pump.

The heart beat some more as she observed it further.

Frog dissection, an inevitable assignment given to million high schoolers every year. A million frogs slaughtered for this very assignment.

She looked back at the frog, it's tiny heart beeping. She had a sudden urge to cut it, to disconnect the tiny heart from its neck, to prove that a heart will stop pumping like always.

She noticed the orange hair strand tucked behind one ear, as the owner wore thick googles and gloves to avoid the nasty frog juices.

Her eyes were the color of orange, strange, but again, her own eyes were strange.

She followed the eyes everywhere, admiring its similarity to a cat's, specifically a lion's. Beyond beautiful, like those green eyes that made her feel as she was in a thick forest, hearing the chirps of the birds who made their home in the thick branches of the old trees.

Yet, she swore there was some type of fire in those eyes, which fitted the girl's personality. That type of fire that no matter how much water you throw on it, it never ceases.

Lione wasn't Altezza, she thought, but she reminded her of her.

She looked back at the heart. The urge was gone now, replaced by content as she snapped the vein.

Never judge a book by its cover, she realized, for the dissection was actually fun, and Lione's lack of blonde hair and green eyes no longer felt so troubling in her eyes.

* * *

 **Act IV, "Lione", Part 4**

She now came to a new house everyday after school.

The house was painted ivory, lined with orange. Red flowers painted by Lione's mom covered up most of the space of the outer side of the house, yet the flowers enhanced as it contrasted against the white paint. The flowers reminded her of flames, beautiful like fireworks and powerful like a forest fire.

A typical two story country house and Lione lived in the attic, which made her kinda jealous of the view Lione had of the sidewalk.

She accepted the love of Lione's eccentric parents, Wohl and Nina. They didn't let her call them anything formal, so she called them by their first names like Lione did.

She learned about Lione's family, that Lione had a older brother named Tio, who was just as persistent as her, which made she smile seeing how much they resemble each other.

She laughed and told jokes of their first meeting, Lione's parents smiling fondly at their daughter.

Lione's parents served in the military, which made her admire them, for she had heard about women serving in the marine, but someone who seemed so delicate like Lione's mother definitely surprised her!

 _"Funny, dear, aren't we going to hear from Lt. Grace soon?"_

* * *

 **Act V, "Sophie"**

The feeling of having friends was contagious, making the alone feel lonely without them once they experience the epic feeling of having friends.

Friends.

How the word rolls off your tongue, to describe the relationship between you and a close acquaintance.

But sooner or later, they always leave you.

"Hey, how does bubble tea sound?"

A gentle tap from her new friend, Sophie, awakened her from her reverie. Fluttering her eyelashes, she gazed sleepily at her, nodding her head.

All your friendships might not always last. But you can always make new ones to cherish.

* * *

 **Act V, "Sophie", Part 2**

A girl laughing and talking to her friends. Hanging out after school. A classic example of a typical out of a perfect movie scene. The laughter. The sight just oozes the idea of happiness.

But then, surprise, there's a secret conflict, and the friendship isn't as perfect as it seemed. The darkness creeps through the cracks and the friends start to distrust each other.

This is why she didn't want them to be a scene from a movie. She didn't want them to be something easily broken and toyed by just with the director's command.

"So Ms. Rin, so delightful for you to engrave your presence among us peasants." Sophie giggled, as she went into another one of her problems and encounters during the school day.

She switched her light, airy and cheerful tone to a stricter, almost scratchy tone. "If you don't get something, Sophie, tell me."

She giggled, trying to hold in her laughter as she imitated her friend's possible answer to the teacher. "But Ms. Rin, who would want to be with you? Much less be seen with you?"

Milk tea spurt out Sophie's nose, but Sophie didn't overreact. Her best trait being she was extremely mutable, so changes didn't affect her.

She handed Sophie a napkin, which Sophie gladly accepted, dusting the white satin-like napkin over the hinge of her nose, wiping away the traces of the accident.

"Sophie, if your attitude continues," Sophie snorted, interjecting her imitation with her opinion. "Like I actually give her attitude."

"I know! She keeps saying that I keep asking to go use the bathroom!" She replied, as she took another sip of her plain milk tea.

"Exactly!" Sophie returned to her exaggerated imitation. "We might have to place you in the ESOL program in a different school for remediation, with your grades."

Sophie took another sip of her passion mango fruit milk tea. The orange and pink hues swirled in the drink, and the rainbow jelly complimented the colors.

She didn't want her life to be a movie. There was too much drama in it. She liked it at her own pace, that her life wasn't one that was forced upon her.

* * *

 **Act V, "Sophie", Part 3**

Sophie walked her to every one of her classes both yesterday and today. It was strange, being they didn't have much classes together, and their classes were extremely far apart. Not that she minded. She loved to spend more time with Sophie.

They only had two classes together, so she always tried to make their joint classes worthwhile, trying not to waste any precious second.

Time with priceless. Especially when you had a friend by your side.

She cracked jokes with her beloved friend with short fluffy light green clouds for hair. She listened to her distant daydreams, her voice traveling to far away places as she spoke of her dreams, feverish ones, the far ones away from her grasp.

Sophie participated in the weekly messy food fights, ones she always tried to stay away from by hiding with her under the tables to dodge the flying balls of the school's disgusting gravity-defying whole wheat macaroni and cheese. She cheered her friend on, not surprised that her flexible friend tried something new. Sophie was declared king of the cafeteria for the week, and the beam on her face was brighter than any sun as she was crowned by her classmates.

After the eventful day, she decided, out of curiosity and the need for a promise in her life.

"Hey, Sophie."

"Yes?"

"Always be by my side, okay?"

She didn't reply. And she wasn't at school the next day.

* * *

 **Act VI, "Toma"**

She was left friendless once more.

This time, she was failing behind in class, on purpose.

"I'm sorry, but your grades are failing."

She didn't care. She was so close to being with Sophie again.

"So we'll have to sign you up for something."

They would have so much fun at Sophie's new school.

"It's very beneficial, and many students who were failing before are now scoring some of the highest grades we ever seen."

They'll make snowmens in the winter like she did with Altezza, and create milk mustaches in lunch. She would try new things like Sophie did. She would be declared queen of the cafeteria along with Sophie as king.

"It's quite new, so you might not of heard of it before."

She couldn't wait to be with Sophie again.

"Anyways, we've picked your peer tutor, a senior who currently needs extra credit."

* * *

 **Act VI, "Toma", Part 2**

She was startled by the silky white hair when she first stepped into the library for her 'peer tutoring'.

He looked annoyed, most likely by her forgetfulness of the time, but she brushed it off, she was too focused on her mission. Fail all classes and get transferred.

"Oi, look who finally came."

Sarcastic toneless words, he kept muttering of a type of cake.

"Chiffon, chiffon, stupid,"

Did he not like cake? Or was he talking about the chiffon fabric?

"Anyways, I need extra credit, so get your butt on that chair."

Harsh, seemingly as he had a bad day.

"Excuse me, do you hate chiffon cake? Or the fabric?"

He looked at her like she was a complete idiot.

She tried to avoid his gaze, looking at the books that were scattered across the mocha library table. She sat in the short mushroom stool he pointed to, and stared hard at the book, trying to pretend the awkward silence between them wasn't there.

"Anyways, for math, an arithmetic sequence applies only to addition and subtraction, so if the sequence happens to contain a pattern such as 1/2x, or 4x, we know it's not an arithmetic sequence."

She stared at him, marveling at the melodious voice he had.

"The recursive formula is A(n-1)d. The explicit formula is An=A(1)(n-1)d."

He continued, before staring at her.

"Oi, are you okay?"

She stepped back, slightly afraid of the boy's intimidating stare. Strange how a word that meant overawe and frighten, contain a word that meant easily frighten.

Elephants were timid. So she was a elephant, and she just noticed a mouse by her hoove.

But he was taller than her, being a senior, while she was a sophomore, a year younger than he was. So he was the elephant, and she was the mouse? He certainly did make her look like a dwarf when she stood next to him.

"Are you going to respond or not?"

She felt the obligation to respond, as the pitch of his voice rose, beginning to hint anger and threats.

"I'm sorry?"

He drew a sharp intake, as if he did not expect her to actually respond back to him.

"Two weird girls in a day. What bad luck I have."

The phrase drew her interest.

"Two?"

He sighed, his weariness showing, which perplexed her that only upon thirty minutes of meeting, he decided to let his harsh guard off around her. She long seen the jerk facade was only a defensive mechanism.

"Blonde, head of the prom committee, weird hair, just put me for king for a stupid event I'm not even attending. My girl and I just fucking broke up!"

She leaned backed, slightly frightened by his sudden outburst.

"Anyways, the arithmetic sequence can only be used for addition and subtraction."

He puzzled her, in his strange mood changes, yet it was seemingly familiar as he reminded her of a blonde girl who was also insecure of herself.

Her heart ached in longing.

* * *

 **Act VI, "Toma", Part 3**

She found her peer tutoring addicting. She had almost forgotten her mission upon the third study session. Guilt piled inside her heart, knowing she was softening for a simple guy who reminded her of her first true friend. Gosh, like she wasn't a softie in the first place.

Her mind conflicted, she went to her fourteen session in the library at four. He normally came five minutes later, due to football practice, so she hadn't expected him to be there when she arrived at the library.

Nor did she expect him to be there with a girl.

But there a girl was. Light blonde curls framed her pale face, as the rest were bundled into two buns on each side of her head, secured with a green scarf tied into a knot. Some loose curls escaped the prison, falling out of the lime fabric.

She was arguing with Toma on something, the scene easily portrayed and depicted that she was currently losing the quarrel. However, if one listened closely to hear the facts, it was undeniable the junior was actually the one winning.

"I said once more, Chiffon, I don't want to go to prom! Rosemary and I just broke up!" Toma exclaimed angrily, kicking a library chair. Chiffon immediately tried to calm him down, and much to her surprise, actually succeeding. She could never calm her tutor down when he was mad at her.

Chiffon patted his back as he shoved his face into his hands, depressed. "It's okay. You don't have to always put that harsh shield up."

She decided to not bother the two, even though her heart ached at the sight in pain. Some things were better left alone, and those two seemed to need some solitude.

If anyone looked into the library today, they would have seen a girl comforting a crying boy. And their eyes would easily skipped over the young girl walking away.

* * *

 **Act VI, "Toma", Part 4**

She didn't trust Chiffon.

The girl was everywhere. Everyone knew her.

School sweetheart. President of the Debate Club. Champion of the Annual Mathematics Competition. The girl was liked by everyone and known by everyone. So different from her.

Chiffon was a girl who kept Toma busy during their study sessions. The girl who now tutored her along with Toma because simply he wasn't good at everything like she was. The girl who comforted him back in the library.

"TOMA! If you're going to tutor her, tutor her right!"

"But the shit's hard!"

"Language! Shittake mushrooms! That's not the quadratic formula, that's the discriminant formula."

"Language!"

"Guys...stop fighting."

Chiffon and Toma always fought over the smallest things. She thought the older perfect good girl only wanted to help the insecure 'bad boy' Toma was, but she was wrong.

When she saw Chiffon hug Toma one day and Toma softened up to it, not bothering to shake it off, she learned something new that day. That she could trust Chiffon.

And Chiffon wanted to be more than just friends with her peer tutor.

* * *

 **Act VI, "Toma", Part 5**

Chiffon was unusually silent and argued with Toma less this week. It was strange, seeing the girl who always had a spark of a fresh fight in her eyes back down from a fight. She was almost shy, so unlike herself.

Toma noticed the change, bringing it up sometimes. She, herself also noticed.

She noticed that Chiffon often stuttered around Toma. She noticed Chiffon singled Toma out. She noticed how Chiffon flushed every time Toma complimented her. And she noticed how Toma let his guard down around her.

Chiffon began stuttering more and more before she asked to meet her.

"I...I...I..IlikeToma!"

She knew it already. It was obvious that he liked her back. So finally it was going to happen.

"Uh..um..I'mgoingtoaskhimouttoday...uh..oh..ohmygod..."

She was acting so abnormal. Toma really did have an effect on the popular and confident possible valedictorian. How the guy who was voted 'Most Likely to Land In Jail' swayed a girl with an acceptance from Duke University was a mystery.

But she had grown to like the future valedictorian who was currently whispering to herself on how she wanted to die on the spot out of embarrassment.

"Go for it."

She found herself encouraging the older girl, erasing the girl's worries as she gently persuaded the girl with her optimistic personality.

So she wasn't surprised when she secretly took a picture of the two hugging in the library.

* * *

 **Act VII, "Tio"**

"Toma! What did I say again about the cursing?" Chiffon scolded her boyfriend of two months over for the fourteen time over the past hour they had been at the university's campus. She had tagged along with the two older students when they had their annual field trip of visiting the state's university.

Toma had planned on attending here, and Chiffon decided to go to a nearby more prestigious university.

"Okay, okay, but you have to admit the campus is awesome."

Toma threw his hands into the air, waving exaggeratedly, much to his girlfriend's annoyance. Chiffon's forehead wrinkled, signaling Toma had succeed getting on the junior's nerves. The senior immediately noticed this, cupping her cheeks as they warmed to his touch.

She smiled, walking away from the couple since she didn't want to disturb their moment.

It was only moments before she walked into the large glass building that she became unarguably lost.

She looked through a window, in awe as the students inside dripped precise measurements of acid onto foods, giggling when one student had exploded his experiment. The dumbfound look he had on through his thick googles was priceless.

The professor pointed at the door, as the student walked the walk of shame out the door.

Removing his googles, his ruffled light blonde hair tousled and messy covered his eyes, as he wiped the dark soot off his face. Placing the dirty used towel down, he opened his scarlet citrus eyes which landed on her.

"Aren't you Lione's friend?"

No wonder his eyes seemed so familiar. They reminded her of Lione's eyes, and a question occurred to her.

"Didn't you move?"

He shook his head, "I decided to stay. College isn't cheap."

She nodded, before quickening her pace to catch up with Lione's brother. "Hey, Tio, how is college?"

"Horrible. You saw that explosion alright." Tio laughed, occasionally checking his reflection on a window.

She noticed a small sliver badge pinned on his striped yellow vest, trying to make out the engraved words. "Hea..heal..healy...healt-?"

"Health supervisor," He answered swiftly, "Funny how I get the most injuries in the class."

She chuckled lightly, "How did you?"

"Be health supervisor?" He ended her question, looking at her for confirmation.

She nodded.

"Quite stupid." He had a far away look on his face, "Skipped a class, didn't get a job."

He stretched, giving her a playful look, patting her shoulder. "That's why you don't skip college classes, okay?"

"Okay!" She promised.

They arrived at the nurse's office, where Tio give a high five to a gloomy looking boy with cyan hair and royal blue eyes. He held his head tilted.

"Nose bleed?" Tio greeted him.

He smirked. "Explosion?"

"That's me everyday," Tio answered cheerfully. He returned his attention back to her, glancing at the boy. "Hey, this is my sister's friend."

The boy smiled aloofly, holding out his hand. "I'm Auler, all's the pleasure."

"Sophie?" The word barely escaped her lips. It had been almost half of a year since she last saw the ditsy girl.

The boy's face turned purplish green as if breakfast wanted to escape, before changing to expressed rage as he slammed a clenched fist against her face. He ran out the infirmary's door as if he was trying to run from the blazing doors of hell before she regained her senses.

 _...what d-di-id I...do wrong..why-yy...did he..hit me...all I did was say-yy-y...her...name.._

Tio looked at her, disappointed as he shook his head, his light blonde hair dancing weightlessly in the air. "You don't really know what you did wrong?"

She nodded, confirming his suspicions. She threw him a questioning glance, curious and full of ignorance.

"Don't ask."

She nodded, feeling unfulfilled and full of unearthed questions, questioning the strange world around her. However, she didn't press further and walked out the room.

 _...why..are you...leaving me in the dark...what happened...Sophie.._

Her nose felt out of place, broken and extra like it didn't belong. She gently stroked the arch of her nose, covered with purplish blue bruises, wincing every then and now at whenever she touched a severe area, pain rocketing in her nerves.

 _..pain...it hurts...owww.._

She had to fix it before Toma and Chiffon saw it. The latter would definitely overreact, and the former would turn scarlet crimson with anger.

 _..it's my fault...but I don't know why.._

She bumped into a maroon haired boy, grimacing as he saw her bruised nose colored with dim blue and black hues. At his side was a cheap brown leather bag of old newspapers, and a bright gold pin in the shape of a book glistened in the light.

"Fifth one this week?" He questioned her nonchalantly, staring at her visible injury. She returned his stare, maintaining eye contact. "Ignorant isn't bliss, laddie."

"Wha.."

He sighed, a deep hoarse one, before he searched for something in his overflowing bag. "Here."

He handed her a newspaper as she gave him a questioning look. How could a newspaper answer all the questions dashing in her head, wishing to be solved?

But one look at it made her gasp, dropping the white sheets filled with small black print. She ran away from it, scared to slow down and let the truth catch her.

All her unanswered mental questions were solved. But it came with grave consequences.

She understood. And the truth hit her like a speeding truck.

 _Cheshire_ _was curious, and curiosity had killed the cat._

* * *

 **Act VIII, "Bright"**

She locked herself in her room after the events that had occur.

 _It has recently been brought to view of many critics that schools for those with learning difficulties resemblance closely to a prison inhabiting criminals._

It's been a week since she had went in her lonely confines and sworn never to leave. Lonely, yet it served another shield of comforting and protection. As if it tried to assure her the truth wasn't real.

But she knew it was real. She had long stopped reading the news, so she hadn't realized it was all over the net.

 _Many are disgusted with how the students were treated, and the minors were subjected to repeated abuse when they didn't apprehend the courses taught._

And how common it was.

 _This wasn't rare for a ESOL program ran school to showcase such horrors. Many incidents have been reported earlier yet it had never resorted to such dire events._

Another drop of hot sweat ran down her forehead as she quickly wiped it off with her hand. Her surroundings blurred, and she had to steady herself as she tipped over. She dropped on her comfy bed, too weak to prop her body back up as if she was a doll.

 _It was rumored the girl had been a main target of sexual assault and abuse. The suspected teachers connected are currently being interrogated by the police._

Her surroundings tilted and swirled, taunting her. She was weak.

Useless even.

Her cheeks were stained wet and she didn't have the energy or will to wipe them off. She could barely form words, her mouth feeling tired whenever she tried to move it as her eyes closed willingly.

 _She gasped as she saw the headlines of the newspaper the boy had given her. The black bold letters screamed at her, and fluids threatened to appear and rush down her rosy cheeks as she dropped the paper instantly, running far away from what she had saw._

 _Because simply, the five letters stated the obvious and the picture had a body in autopsy. The headlines GIRL JUMPS OFF SCHOOL ROOF certainly caught any viewer's attention. Just like a deer caught by headlines._

* * *

 **Act VIII, "Bright", Part 2**

 _"Miss! Miss!"_

She woke up, her body tingling. She tried to sit up, but she was immediately pushed back down by the nurse who adorned a simple white coat and hat, with a sticker. 'I am Camelot' was written in haste with a large black sharpie.

She looked at herself, realizing what she had on. A plain striped two pieced white pajama. Similar to the one you would find on those who visited the hospital. Noting this, she immediately took in her surroundings.

White room. White bed. White equipment. Man in white coat.

She was certainly getting tired of the color, being immediately grateful when something not white walked in. "Melon!"

"You scared me, miss. You weren't coming out of your room." He flushed, softening his harden expression.

His lime green bangs swept and covered his eyes as he began to well up.

"You were passed out! You certainly did give me a heart attack."

She recalled her health the previous days, and didn't realize anything strange. "Why am I here?"

"Anorexia. Forgot to eat for days!" The old nurse with a thin shape, her bun made perfectly, intervened the conversation. She peered at her with doubt through the thin lens of her reading glasses. "Peculiar girl aren't you?"

She remembered. She had locked herself in her room for so long, and forgot to take care of her health, to the fact she had forgotten to even eat. It had taken so much to digest the fact Sophie was with Altezza now.

"Now, be a good girl and eat." The woman shoved a tray of rice and asparagus with a side of chicken soup and mash potatoes at her. She frowned at the vegetables, being the fact she had always hated eating the long green stalks, disliking the natural bitterness.

She gave the old nurse a questioning glance, who returned it with a similar questioning one, yet it had more fierceness in it as if she was threatening her to eat it. "What are you looking at me for? Eat up."

* * *

 **Act VIII, "Bright", Part 3**

She was rapidly recovering, grateful Camelot had no longer served her those evil bitter stalks. Camelot was a scary nurse, yet she was effective. Sometimes, off-guard, she would catch a more soft side of the aggressive old woman.

She was strong enough to move her arms to push the wheels of her new wheelchair, now newly thankful for her ability to walk when she saw the patients Camelot had took care of.

One of them appealed to her. Bronze blonde hair covered his deep orange eyes as he stared out his window in deep longing. She watched him watch the birds fly with a faint serene smile on his face.

One day, he caught her spying on him. "Hello."

"Hi." She replied bow slightly on her wheelchair.

His eyes which closely resembled the sun setting outside of his glass window glinted at her, smiling. "I'm Bright."

She soon got to know Bright better.

 _"My parents are divorced. I had a sister. Bright green eyes and light bushy blonde hair."_

 _"She may have been a real stuck up, but inside she was really shy and soft."_

He was so cheerful. So happy. And so hurt on the inside.

* * *

 **Act VIII, "Bright", Part 4**

She learned that he was paralyzed from his waist down due to a fire. "You know, I wished I wasn't always stuck in this room."

"I want to enjoy life. I want to get in trouble. I want to see what fate has for me." She would nod at him and let him do all the talking. "But I wish God was kinder to me. I was a real selfish prude before I realized how grateful I should have been."

He looked her with tears in his eyes. "I learned my lesson, but still, I would do anything to go outside."

She sympathized him. She felt pity for the boy, so one day when she was strong enough to walk, she still feign weak and was left with her wheelchair.

He greeted her with a smile when he saw her. He questioned why she still had her wheelchair when she could already walk.

But when she helped him onto the chair, she could only see his bright smile, causing her heart to beat rapidly. It was like the sun. Bright like his name.

She sneaked him out, though there was a close encounter with Camelot when she bumped into the nurse, questioning why she was out of her wheelchair as the girl faked ignorance.

"Hey, thank you." He smiled at her when they had walked out the hospital. He took in everything with wondering eyes.

She smiled at him. She had fallen so hard for him and his smile, but in the end, fate always has other plans.

* * *

 **Act VIII, "Bright", Part 5**

She and Bright had gotten closer.

She was going to confess today. She decided. It was her last day before she got exempted, two weeks since she was first admitted. She could hardly hold her glee.

Her heart was flying. Her stomach was filled with butterflies. Her eyes glittering.

Both Camelot and Melon had noted the change, and shared secretive smiles with each other. The old woman's eyes glistening behind her glasses, always understanding and comprehending what was going on. Melon was informed naturally, being her supposed guardian.

"Bright." Her voice was raspy from her exercise, as she reached his room. His door was open.

And much to her dismay, he was with a girl.

"Bright?"

He gave her his usual smile, "Hey."

The girl was ravishing. Pretty wasn't enough to describe her beauty. She felt a slight pain of jealousy when she first laid eyes on the breath-taking girl.

"Bright? Can I talk to you alone?" The butterflies increased, her hands were shaking and she hoped he didn't see.

"Sure," He motioned her to the new stranger. "But I would like you to meet someone."

The riveting girl beamed, such a pretty smile indeed, as Bright mentioned her title and connection to him, to her. "This is my girlfriend."

* * *

 **Act IX, "Shade"**

"I want to die. I want to die."

She had excused herself, telling Bright she was exempted and congratulated him before she walked out the torturous steps out, trying to appear not to desperate in her exit. She immediately ran away from the room once she was out of sight, her tears flowing freely.

In her nonstop dreadful muttering, she had accidentally bumped into a stranger.

"Watch wher-" She snarled at him, completely opposite of her normal, but it was a major turn for her, getting heartbroken and rejected even before she had tried to confess.

"Hey, hey. Calm down. Oh, it's you." He nonchalantly glanced at her with such familiarity, making her frustrated.

She looked at him. "Do I know you?"

"We met in the library, remember?" He raised his eyebrow, questioning her intelligence.

"I," She pounded her head, trying to remember where she had seen the guy, before giving up in frustration. "I don't remember."

He shrugged, in the same calm and composed manner, "Figures."

She glanced at him before continuing on her path. "Hey."

"What?" She swiveled back to look at the owner of the voice. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his thick wool coat, as he watched her with his keen eyes as his lilac bangs were swept to the side in one clean motion.

"What was it again?" He tilted his head back as if he was in deep thought. "You wanted to die?"

She glared daggers at him. "Yeah, so what?"

"No need to get rustled." He smiled, as he raised his hands as if he was surrendering.

She gave him another glare before turning away from him. But as usual, the guy was getting on her nerves, picking and asking her questions.

"Want to bet?" He held his hand out to her, as if she was to shake it.

She shook it, not bothering she had just shook hands with a complete stranger. "Fine."

"First person who comes out. If you make friends with her or him, you won't kill yourself."

"What if I don't?" She had the worst socializing skills ever! Ignorant she definitely was on that topic. She had just said the phrase to spite herself, never actually thought of the idea to suicide.

Like Sophie once did.

She wondered what driven the cheerful girl to do it. Sexual abuse was the answer, and bullying always backed the motive.

"She's out!" The guy exclaimed, before adding some key details. "It's a girl. Your age."

Her goal walked out, before spotting them. She waved her hands frantically, her smile beaming.

"Shade!"

The girl ran over to him, grabbing him in a firm hug. "Milky's alright!"

Realization filled her mind as she realized she had been tricked. "Hey!"

"Yup." He answered. "My girlfriend is your target."

"Hey, Shade! Don't tell me that you been up to your tricks again." The girl clung to him and he didn't mind, softening to her grasp on his arm.

"Jerk." She stuck her tongue at him, as she turned to look at her, smiling. "Hey, I'm this idiot's girlfriend. And don't we look alike?"

"I'm going to prevent what happened to Milky from happening again." He pecked his girlfriend's cheek, as she ditched him and grabbed her hand, telling her to go to the mall with her.

"Hey, let's be friends."

 _fin._

* * *

 _But we were born to make mistakes. To be real. Not to be perfect._

* * *

 **FINISHED! Finally! I had a lot of help on my way when I writing this, and I have a important thing to say. This might be my last story in three months. Recently, I want to take a few months off of writing and go on what I call a lecture. Basically, I read other people's stories and try to understand how they wrote theirs and learn a few tips! I'm going to refrain from publishing or starting any new stories.**

 **Note: Thank you KingMaverick for noting out a error! I'm going to work on the character development right now.**

 **Thank you and please review!**


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